The 15 senators who make up the Duffy panel, and how they got there

David Tkachuk: Former teacher (just like Justin Trudeau) and businessman from Saskatchewan, he’s a big fan of John Diefenbaker, joined the Progressive-Conservatives in 1974 (when they held one seat in the provincial legislature) and served as principal secretary to PC Premier Grant Devine when he came to power just eight years later. Appointed to the Senate by Brian Mulroney in June 1993 just days before Mulroney left office.

Claude Carignan: Failed Tory candidate who served as mayor of Saint-Eustache and ran for the Harper Conservatives in 2008, but lost to the Bloc Quebecois candidate. Appointed to the Senate by Stephen Harper in 2009 and named deputy leader.

Percy Downe: Liberal appointee who lives in Prince Edward Island (no, seriously … he has a real home there any everything. He can prove it). Long-time Liberal who demonstrates that Tories didn’t invent the practice of rewarding their faithful followers with Senate posts, he was executive assistant to Liberal Premier Joe Ghiz, moved to Ottawa after Jean Chretien’s victory in 1993 and served as executive assistant to various ministers, then as Chretien’s chief of staff. Named to the Senate by Chretien in 2003 before the PMO was seized by the forces of Paul Martin.

Noel Kinsella: New Brunswick academic and professor appointed by Mulroney in 1990 and named Speaker by Harper in 2006, even thought he supported Peter MacKay against Harper as Conservative leader. He served as chairperson of the New Brunswick Human Rights Commission for 22 years and as President of the Canadian Human Rights Foundation. He’s also, according to his website, a Knight of the Sovereign Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, Rhodes and Malta, and a Knight of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem.

Judith Seidman: Montreal medical researcher, she was Quebec co-chair of Harper’s 2004 leadership campaign. Named to Senate in 2009.

George Furey: Newfoundlanbd educator and lawyer, he headed Liberal campaigns in the province for Jean Chretien and was named to the Senate by Chretien in 1999. “From 1993 to 1999,” says his web site, “he co-chaired three highly successful Federal Campaigns in Newfoundland and Labrador for Prime Minister Chrétien, which saw three majority Liberal governments elected for the Prime Minister and the Federal Liberal Party. (In 1993 the province of Newfoundland and Labrador elected seven out of seven Liberals to represent the province in Ottawa.)”

Gerald Comeau: An accountant and university prof from Nova Scotia. He won a seat for Brian Mulroney in the 1984 landslide but lost it in 1988 and was named to the Senate by Mulroney two years later.

Norman Doyle: Newfoundland businessman, he sat in provincial House of Assembly from 1979 to 1993, where he served in seven cabinet posts, and as Tory MP in Ottawa from 1997 until 2008. According to the CBC, before entering politics, Doyle was “a construction worker who specialized in skyscrapers, including the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City.” Appointed by Harper in 2012.

Beth Marshall: Civil servant appointed by Harper in 2010 after 30 years with government of Newfoundland. Named Auditor General of Newfoundland and Labrador in 1992 and served for 10 years. Elected as a Tory to provincial legislature in 2003.

Larry Smith: Former football player, chief executive of the Montreal Alouettes and commissioner of the Canadian Football League, also former publisher of the Montreal Gazette, named to the Senate by Harper in 2010, ran as Conservative candidate in Quebec in 2011 election, re-named to Senate after his defeat.

Larry Campbell: Former Vancouver mayor, steelworker, Mountie, chief coroner of British Columbia and “the inspiration behind the popular CBC drama Da Vinci’s Inquest, as well as its spin-off, Da Vinci’s City Hall.” Elected mayor in 2002, he helped bring Olympics to Vancouver. Named to the Senate by Paul Martin in 2005.

Jane Cordy: Elementary school teacher for 30 years in Nova Scotia and past president of the Nova Scotia Women’s Liberal Commission. She also served on Chrétien’s task force on seniors. Appointed to Senate by Chretien in 2000.

Joan Fraser: Former journalist and editorial writer, joined The Gazette in 1965, moved to Financial Times of Canada two years later, returned to the Gazette in 1978. Appointed Editor in Chief in 1993, and appointed to Senate by Chretien in 1998.

Jim Munson: Former CTV broadcaster (hey, wasn’t that also Duffy’s job?) he was CTV’s Bureau Chief in Beijing from 1987 to 1992 and served as Bureau Chief and senior correspondent in Halifax and London. Hired as director of communications for Jean Chretien in 2002. Named to Senate by Chretien in 2003 two days before he stepped down as PM.

Carolyn Stewart Olsen: Former New Brunswick nurse, left nursing after 20 years to serve as an aide under Reform Party opposition, stayed on under Stockwell Day and became press secretary to Harper as leader of the opposition and later Director of Strategic Communication when he became Prime Minister. Named to Senate in 2009.

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